Ask Me Anything: Amberthegirlgeekgamer87

If ya'll have any questions for me, please let me know. Thanks. 😁

What do you think you get out of play by post D&D that you might not get out of live play (virtual or otherwise)?

Since you watch a good deal of Critical Role, what would you say particularly inspires you from the show? Has it changed the way you play your game or influenced your expectations of what a game should be like?

Awesome question. It's much slower than regular dnd and for me it's basically like an interactive game experience which is totally different than online dnd playing on roll20 and discord a.k.a. live play. I enjoy how we all describe our characters and more doing play by post and I can imagine everyone's voices for the characters as I read them too.

I have only watched Campaign 3 and the EXU miniseries and it has definitely influenced my expectations of what a game should be like because in my current games I play in there is hardly any romance in Dnd or flirting like in Critical role though we do get some roleplaying opportunities and combat . One of the games I play in when a character dies you have to create a new character as there is no revive or reincarnation like in Critical role and I am on my 4th character in that game setting now after 3 dnd character deaths and I have only been playing dnd since February of last year but have been playing in Torespar Western Reach dnd since September 2021and this past February was my 1st time having a character die in dnd which broke my heart and I have gotten attached to my characters and have autism so it took me several days of crying and saying goodbye to that character to create a new one and I try not to add too much backstory to my characters now because I don't think they'll survive long enough to have one. Like Fearne and Orym from Critical role campaign 3 inspired me to create my lotusden halfling champion fighter girl Fearne and she only survived 18 sessions before dying and after having a best friend that became the BBEG, parents she had to re-kill after they became zombies and a Uncle that was her only family left in the world that she never saw or was able to speak to ever again, she died to a giant squid after starting her 1st year of service in the Navy after a 6 month short boot camp training which wasn't enough training. then my other characters died about 3 sessions for my 2nd character and 2 for my third character so being on my 4th character I have learned not to do combat by myself anymore and only do it with a full party because all of my characters died due to weak npcs , one pc that wouldn't help heal my character after dying to a dire bear and then I had a character die in a three against 1 demon fight so I'm sticking with a party and not fighting alone anymore. Our partys mistake was basically splitting the party which in Critical role is ok until they can get back together. I just am not going to split up from anyone anymore. I also love how they are higher level than I am and how they have played to level 20 which is my dream to get to higher level and level 20 in dnd as I have only played characters from level 1 to 5 and my characters has been retired and died at level 5 . So basically I just need a dnd mentor to help me be a better dnd player at roleplaying and knowing how to play my abilities better and more cuz I try my best every time I play dnd and have fun and just go with the flow. And I know I'm not a good liar in dnd and can't keep secrets in dnd either. And I have learned that there are no bad rolls, only good stories. So like the Critical role gang, I just try my best playing dnd because roleplaying is hard and I try my best in combat and that sticking with the full party is a must if you want to survive.

Thanks for the questions Qralloq and Bedzonell.

If ya'll have any other questions, please let me know. I'm having a blast answering them.

I've never been into coloring books, so what's the best and the worst one you've worked on so far? And why?

Adult coloring books are awesome! I started coloring in adult coloring books back in 2014 and out of all that I own I have completed 24 out of the many I own.

The best ones I have worked in so far is Dungeons and dragons adventures outlined, Pop Manga Cute and Creepy by Camilla d'errico, Worlds of Wonder by Johanna basford, Romantic Country Volume 2 by Eriy, Beauty of Horror IV Creature feature by Alan Robert, Color your own young marvel by Skottie young, Nickelodeon the splat coloring the 90s and more. The best ones I finished are Ivy and the inky butterfly by Johanna basford, Pop manga coloring book by Camilla d'errico, Color your own graphic novel DC mad love batman coloring book, Mythomorphia, Fragile World and Worlds within worlds by Kerby rosanes, Romantic country volume 1 by Eriy and Jade Summers Dragons, Vampires, mermaids, and Fairies 4 books in 1 books. Those are all awesome to work in.

The worst ones I have ever worked in is probably the dollar tree ones cuz you can't use markers in it cuz of the bleed through.

Hi Amber! :)
I think we all know many TRPG podcasts, so I'm not going to ask about that. But what non-RPG-related podcasts would you recommend?

Awesome question The Generator!

Gilbert Gottfrieds Amazing Collosal Podcast is pretty good if you would like to listen to The Late Gilbert Gottfried and his Cohost Interview Celebrities from TV and movies like Vincent Prices daughter Victoria Price, Josh Groban, Matthew Broderick, and more. It's on Spotify.

Blackout is a pretty good Audiodrama radio play like story if you like audio dramas. It stars the guy from Irobot in it and is finished with its Second Season right now.

Mockery Manor is a pretty good horror audiodrama from the UK about a amusement park that has a horrifying history.

If you like the guys who did "Good Mystical Morning " they did a podcast audiodrama called Ronstadt which is pretty good about this guy who hears supernatural things happening and works as a 911 dispatcher.

You can listen to these on Spotify and other podcast places.

There are others I listen to that are dnd, audiodramas and more but these are the only ones I can think of right now. Definitely check them out!

Let me know if you guys have any other questions for me. I am enjoying them.

What are some of your favorite video games?

What is the hardest part about DMing?

I love Stardew Valley for PS4 and PC, Pokemon puzzle league for the N64, Felix the cat NES, Return to popliocrois a story of Seasons fairytale for the 3ds, Final Fantasy Rhythm Theater curtain call for the 3ds, Mario party 3 for N-64, and more. Arcade games I love DDR Extreme, Guitar hero arcade, the Nightmare on elm street pinball machine, and more. I'm a fan of rpg, casual, party and other games. You don't know Jack volume 3 for the PC is pretty good.

Awesome question!

I think the hardest part about dming is the scheduling and actually being consistent with your games and stuff.

Like the prep work for games is easy. Like I dm one shot games and the last one I did only required one map and I just had to create all of the fighter NPCs and a T-rex npc for them to fight since it was a fighting tournament one and then my very first one shot game I did was a beginner's module for roll20 and dnd which had all the maps and stuff provided for you which was cool so the only prep work I had to do for that was up a few statblocks and try to set a timer to see how long my games were going to be. Like I'm going to be running a one shot in the future where there is only going to be a few maps which is a town square of a VRMMO game and a three floor dungeon which I'm going to try and draw myself. And I'm going to run this bofuri anime inspired one-shot dnd game which is a dungeon crawl during my birthday.

Like communication in dnd is very important to me and as a player with autism and being a highly sensitive person being in a dnd game with other people and not given any heads up on whether or not we are playing is very bad communication. And if you can't stay consistent with your games and actually communicate with your players that we are unable to play or can play and not giving them any heads up at all is really bad form on their part. This is basically how dnd game groups die is inconsistent games and no communication at all and the group not playing at all besides drama and I've experienced too many inconsistent dnd game groups that have died and no longer continued.

Like if I had any advice for people wanting to try their hand at dming a dnd 5e game for roll20 and discord, then One-shot games are the best way to start and the Masters Vault is a free one-shot module for roll20 and dnd for beginners levels 1-3. I also reccomend if you start as a player first to see how your dms run their games and then compare it to any dnd streamed game shows like Critical role, high rollers, Godforged, mistletoe, Brett Ultimus world of IO ioverse games, dimension 20 and more and try to do your own style from them.

I also reccomend when you do play a game running it with others that you tell them "if you are unable to come to game or is late for game that I need a heads up a few days in advance before our game day if you are coming or not so I can decide if we are playing or not." That's very important as well as having a session 0 in your game to let the players know what to expect in your game, where they can share their lines and veils and what they want or don't want in their games and more. Also letting players give out feedback after game with a after the session chat-time with each other and the dm is important as it'll allow for the players to give feedback, ask questions and more on the campaign game you run or if it's a one shot game to give out stars and wishes which is what they love about the game and what they wish would have happened.

If the players enjoy the games you run for them as a dm gm storyteller then awesome but if they want to play and dont get any communication with each other or the dm on playing then they have a problem communicating with each other and they need to find a new dnd game group where the dm and players all care about playing a consistent weekly dnd game every week and having fun is the most important thing in a dnd game and if you are not having fun, then why are you playing.

All of this is important with "Leave the table better than you left it", "There are no bad rolls, only good stories. " and more

I reccomend for podcasts to listen to on DMing is Dimension 20s Adventuring Academy podcast with Brennan lee mulligan.

As a dm it is your job to communicate with your players and check in by saying "Hey how are you guys? Are we going to be able to play this week, etc?" And if you don't get that then finding a new dnd game group is probably the best next option as your game probably won't last much longer if the dms heart is not in it because they have allowed other things to get in the way of the game.

I also say be the dm and run the games you want to play but know that you and the health and mental health of you and the players you run for is very important so I suggest allowing them roleplaying opportunities and only doing combat when necessary is important as well as the party must stay together so no unnecessary deaths happen like I have had split from the party and fighting by myself which sucks. Also be a dnd mentor to your players that are new to dnd is great too.

Out of all my games I have dmed so far The Masters Vault one-shot and my play by post dnd game The Quest for the Briarwood inn are my favorite games I have ran as a dm so far besides my fighting tournament one.

What's your go-to swear word that's kid-friendly?

I actually don't curse much but dang it and freak and son of a beholder are ones I sometimes say when I curse getting bad rolls in dnd or if I accidentally stub my toe or something.

Haha. Nice one :)

Thank you! 😁

Do you guys have any other questions for me? Let me know. Have an awesome day and dnd weekend!